Repression of rearranged mu gene and translocated c-myc in mouse 3T3 cells X Burkitt lymphoma cell hybrids.

The productively rearranged immunoglobulin mu chain gene and the translocated cellular oncogene c-myc are transcribed at high levels both in human Burkitt lymphoma cells carrying the t(8;14) chromosome translocation and in mouse plasmacytoma X Burkitt lymphoma cell hybrids. In the experiments reported here these genes were found to be repressed in mouse 3T3 fibroblast X Burkitt lymphoma cell hybrids. Such repression probably occurs at the transcriptional level since no human mu- and c-myc messenger RNA's are detectable in hybrid clones carrying the corresponding genes. It is therefore concluded that the ability to express these genes requires a differential B cell environment. The results suggest that the 3T3 cell assay may not be suitable to detect oncogenes directly involved in human B cell oncogenesis, since 3T3 cells apparently are incapable of transcribing an oncogene that is highly active in malignant B cells with specific chromosomal translocations.

Differential expression of the translocated and the untranslocated c-myc oncogene in Burkitt lymphoma.

Burkitt lymphoma cells carrying either a rearranged or unrearranged c-myc oncogene were examined with the use of probes from the 5' exon and for the second and third exon of the oncogene. The results indicate that the normal c-myc gene on chromosome 8 and the 5' noncoding and 3' coding segments of the c-myc oncogene separated by the chromosomal translocation are under different transcriptional control in the lymphoma cells. Burkitt lymphoma cells carrying a translocated but unrearranged c-myc oncogene express normal c-myc transcripts. In contrast, lymphoma cells carrying a c-myc gene rearranged head to head with the immunoglobulin constant mu region gene express c-myc transcripts lacking the normal untranslated leader.

elk, tissue-specific ets-related genes on chromosomes X and 14 near translocation breakpoints.

The myb-ets-containing acute leukemia virus, E26, transforms myeloblasts and erythroblasts in culture and causes a mixed erythroid and myeloid leukemia in chicks. Genes (ets-1, ets-2, and erg) with variable relatedness to the v-ets oncogene of the E26 virus have been identified, cloned, and characterized in several species. Two new members (elk-1 and elk-2) of the ets oncogene superfamily have now been identified. Nucleotide sequence analysis of the elk-1 cDNA clone revealed that this gene encodes a 428-residue protein whose predicted amino acid sequence showed 82% similarity to the 3' region of v-ets. The elk or related sequences appear to be transcriptionally active in testis and lung. The elk cDNA probe detects two loci in the human genome, elk-1 and elk-2, which map to chromosome regions Xp11.2 and 14q32.3, respectively. These loci are near the translocation breakpoint seen in the t(X;18) (p11.2;q11.2), which is characteristic of synovial sarcoma, and the chromosome 14q32 breakpoints seen in ataxia telangiectasia and other T cell malignancies. This suggests the possibility that rearrangements of elk loci may be involved in pathogenesis of certain tumors.

Deregulation of c-myc by translocation of the alpha-locus of the T-cell receptor in T-cell leukemias.

Two human T-cell leukemias carrying a t(8;14)(q24;q11) chromosome translocation were studied for rearrangements and expression of the c-myc oncogene. For one leukemia, rearrangement was detected in a region immediately distal (3') to the c-myc locus; no rearrangements of c-myc were observed in the second case (DeF). However, studies with hybrids between human and mouse leukemic T cells indicated that in the leukemic cells of DeF, the breakpoint in chromosome 14 occurred between genes for the variable (V alpha) and the constant (C alpha) regions for the alpha chain of the T-cell receptor. The C alpha locus had translocated to a region more than 38 kilobases 3' to the involved c-myc oncogene. Since human c-myc transcripts were expressed only in hybrids carrying the 8q+ chromosome but not in hybrids containing the normal chromosome 8, it is concluded that the translocation of the C alpha locus 3' to the c-myc oncogene can result in its transcriptional deregulation.

Fusion of the bcr and the c-abl genes in Ph'-positive acute lymphocytic leukemia with no rearrangement in the breakpoint cluster region.

Two types of Philadelphia (Ph') chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemias (ALL) have been described. One shows rearrangements within the 5.8 kb breakpoint cluster region (bcr), which forms the mid-portion of the bcr gene, on chromosome 22, while the other carries rearrangements involving a more proximal region on chromosome 22. To understand the nature of the breakpoints on chromosome 22 in bcr rearrangement negative, Ph'-positive ALLs, we have cloned and sequenced the cDNA of the c-abl oncogene in such ALL cells. The 5' ends of the cDNA clones correspond to the normal sequences of the bcr gene first exon with two of the clones extending beyond the GCCATGG consensus sequence for the initiation of translation. The bcr sequence stops at nucleotide 1813 of the coding sequence of the bcr gene, while the c-abl sequence starts at the beginning of the second c-abl exon (nucleotide 227). Thus the joining point between bcr and c-abl is at the boundary between two exons, suggesting intronic fusion and the occurrence of a splicing event. Our current observations indicate that the Ph' translocation in bcr negative ALL involves bcr gene sequences, albeit only a proximal portion of those involved in CML. These genomic differences may be important factors in the pathogenesis of the distinct phenotypes of ALL and CML.

Transcriptional control of the expression of mouse globin genes in myeloma x erythroleukemia cell hybrids.

Fusions were made between thymidine kinase deficient (TK-) Friend Cells inducible for hemoglobin production, and immunoglobulin-producing, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase-deficient (HGPRT-) myeloma cells. Hybrids were selected in hypoxanthine-aminopterin-thymidine (HAT) and identified by isozyme analysis and chromosome counts. All hybrids resembled the myeloma cell line in mode of growth and were immunoglobulin secretors. All hybrids did not express hemoglobin and were uninducible for hemoglobin production with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Hybridization of genomic globin DNA probes with hybrid-derived nuclear and cytoplasmic mRNAs blotted to nitrocellulose filter indicated that lack of expression of the globin genes in the hybrids was due to lack of transcription.

Localization of the human pim oncogene (PIM) to a region of chromosome 6 involved in translocations in acute leukemias.

The human homolog, hpim, of the murine pim-1 gene, which is activated in murine T-cell lymphomas by insertion of retrovirus proviral genomes in the pim-1 region, has been molecularly cloned; the cloned probe has been used to map the hpim locus to human chromosome region 6p21 by somatic cell hybrid analysis and chromosomal in situ hybridization. The hpim gene is expressed as a 3.2-kilobase mRNA in various human cell lines of hematopoietic lineage, most dramatically in the K562 erythroleukemia cell line, which contains a cytogenetically demonstrable rearrangement in the 6p21 region. A characteristic chromosome anomaly, a reciprocal translocation t(6;9)(p21;q33), has been described in myeloid leukemias and could involve the hpim gene.

The translocated c-myc oncogene of Raji Burkitt lymphoma cells is not expressed in human lymphoblastoid cells.

We hybridized Raji Burkitt lymphoma cells, which carry a t(8;14) chromosome translocation, with human lymphoblastoid cells to study the expression of the translocated cellular myc oncogene (c-myc) in the hybrid cells. In Raji cells the c-myc oncogene is translocated to a switch region of the gamma heavy chain locus (S gamma). Because of sequence alterations in the 5' exon of the translocated c-myc oncogene in this cell line, it is possible to distinguish the transcripts of the translocated c-myc gene and of the normal c-myc gene. S1 nuclease protection experiments with a c-myc first exon probe indicate that Raji cells express predominantly the translocated c-myc gene, while the level of expression of the normal c-myc gene is less than 2% of that of the translocated c-myc gene. Somatic cell hybrids between Raji and human lymphoblastoid cells retain the lymphoblastoid phenotype and express only the normal c-myc oncogene. This result indicates that the activation of a c-myc oncogene translocated to a S region depends on the stage of B-cell differentiation of the cells harboring the translocated c-myc gene and not on alterations in the structure of the translocated c-myc oncogene.

Translocated c-myc oncogene of Burkitt lymphoma is transcribed in plasma cells and repressed in lymphoblastoid cells.

We examined somatic cell hybrids between Burkitt lymphoma cells and either human lymphoblastoid cells or mouse plasmacytoma cells for the expression of the translocated c-myc oncogene. The results of this study indicate that the translocated c-myc oncogene is transcribed in plasma cells but is repressed in lymphoblastoid cells. Thus, the factors necessary for translocated c-myc transcription are present in plasma cells and Burkitt lymphoma cells but are absent or inactive in lymphoblastoid cells. Since the distance between the rearranged immunoglobulin loci and the c-myc oncogene can even exceed 30-50 kilobases, we speculate that the translocated c-myc oncogene is under the transcriptional control of enhancer-like elements capable of acting over long distances. The activity of this long-range enhancer may depend on the interaction with transacting factors that are active in plasma cells and in Burkitt lymphoma cells but are not active in lymphoblastoid cells. We also examined the transcription of the first exon of the c-myc oncogene, which becomes separated from the second and third exon because of the chromosomal break involving the first intron. This exon is transcribed at high levels in ST486 Burkitt lymphoma cells with the t(8;14) chromosome translocation. Hybrids between lymphoblastoid and ST486 cells expressed high levels of transcripts of the first exon, whereas hybrids between plasma cells and ST486 cells did not. Thus, transcription of the separated first exon can be enhanced in lymphoblastoid and Burkitt lymphoma cells because of its close proximity to the heavy chain enhancer that is normally located between the joining and the switch region of the C mu gene. Such enhancement, however, does not occur in plasma cells, possibly because these cells are able to suppress completely the c-myc oncogene, unless it has been placed in the proximity of a rearranged immunoglobulin constant region gene.

Differential expression of the normal and of the translocated human c-myc oncogenes in B cells.

We have investigated whether the translocated and the untranslocated human c-myc oncogenes of Burkitt lymphoma cells are equally or differentially expressed in host mouse B cells. The human c-myc mRNA levels in somatic cell hybrids between mouse plasmacytoma cells and Burkitt lymphoma cells with either the t(8;14) or the t(2;8) chromosome translocation were determined by using the nuclease S1 protection procedure. Although both the human parental lines and the hybrid cells carrying the translocated c-muc oncogene expressed high levels of human specific c-myc transcripts, the hybrid cells carrying the untranslocated c-myc gene on normal chromosome 8 did not contain human specific c-myc mRNA. These results suggest that the translocated human c-myc oncogene has escaped the normal transcriptional control to which the untranslocated c-myc gene remains subjected. This interpretation is also supported by the finding that the expression of the c-myc genes of lymphoblastoid cells and of HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells are repressed when they are transferred into a mouse plasmacytoma background. The ability of the translocated c-myc oncogene to escape the normal transcriptional control occurring in B cells may be important for the expression of B cell neoplasia in mouse and man. We have also transferred the Burkitt 14q+ chromosome carrying a translocated c-myc oncogene into mouse LM-TK- fibroblasts and studied the levels of human c-myc transcripts in the hybrids. Because the levels of human c-myc transcripts in the fibroblast hybrids are dramatically decreased in comparison to the plasmacytoma hybrids, we conclude that the levels of transcripts of the translocated c-myc oncogene depend on the differentiated state of the cells harboring the translocated chromosome.

The structure and nucleotide sequence of the 5' end of the human c-myc oncogene.

We have established the structure and nucleotide sequence of the 5' end of the human c-myc oncogene, using a cloned genomic fragment isolated from a fetal liver library (clone lambda MC41) and cloned cDNA from the human leukemic cell line K562. The human c-myc oncogene consists of three exons and two introns. Primer extension of the human c-myc mRNA of three different cell lines and S1 nuclease protection experiments served to establish the position of two transcription initiation sites. The splicing site of the first exon-intron boundary was determined by comparative analysis of the sequences of the genomic and cDNA clones. The first exon contains termination codons in all three reading frames and no translation initiation signals, confirming our previous observation that the c-myc mRNA has a long 5' noncoding sequence. This first exon also was found to be utilized in the formation of c-myc mRNAs in a variety of human cell lines.

Transcriptional activation of the translocated c-myc oncogene in burkitt lymphoma.

We have previously demonstrated that translocations of V(H) genes from chromosome 14 to chromosome 8 and of the c-myc oncogene from chromosome 8 to chromosome 14 occur in Burkitt lymphomas with the t(8;14) chromosome translocation. An association of the c-myc gene with the C(mu) immunoglobulin gene has been observed in some but not all Burkitt lymphomas studied previously. In the present study, we have investigated the organization of the human heavy chain locus and of the c-myc gene in the P3HR-1 Burkitt lymphoma cell line. Becuase mouse/P3HR-1 somatic cell hybrids that retain only the 14q+ chromosome and no other human chromosome contain the human C(mu) and C(gamma) genes but not V(H) genes, we have concluded that the breakpoint on chromosome 14 in P3HR-1 cells is distal to C(mu) and between C(mu) and V(H). Thus, the breakpoint of human chromosome 14 differs in different Burkitt lymphoma cell lines. We also found that the human c-myc oncogene translocated to chromosome 14 in the P3HR-1 cell line is not recombined with the C(mu) gene. The breakpoint on human chromosome 8 may therefore also differ in different Burkitt lymphoma cell lines, because we have observed DNA rearrangement of the c-myc gene with the C(mu) gene in only some of the Burkitt lymphoma cell lines studied elsewhere. Interestingly, high levels of transcripts of the c-myc oncogene were observed in Burkitt lymphomas with translocated c-myc oncogenes both rearranged and unrearranged. Therefore, the translocation of a c-myc oncogene to the heavy chain locus on human chromosome 14 is apparently sufficient for its transcriptional activation and may be an essential step in the pathway leading to neoplasia.

Cloning and characterization of the human PIM-1 gene: a putative oncogene related to the protein kinases.

The mouse PIM-1 gene has been implicated in the evolution of retrovirus-associated mouse lymphomas. We have initiated a study of the human PIM-1 gene because of its potential importance as a human oncogene. We have isolated genomic and cDNA clones for this gene and characterized this locus in detail. The predicted PIM-1 protein is 313 amino acids in length. It has homology to a number of the protein kinases but does not have a transmembrane region. The amino acid corresponding to tyrosine-416 of pp60v-src is a tyrosine (position 198), which is consistent with the hypothesis that PIM-1 is a tyrosine kinase rather than a serine-threonine kinase. The PIM-1 gene was found to have six exons and five introns derived from 5 kb of genomic DNA. The site of transcription initiation was localized by S1 nuclease protection studies which indicated that the mature PIM-1 mRNA was approximately 2.7 kb in length. The promotor of this gene had no TATA or CAAT box but did have multiple GC boxes (CCGCCC) that might bind the Sp1 protein. The PIM-1 gene was expressed in myeloid and B lymphoid cell lines, but not in T lymphoid and nonhemopoietic lines. This initial characterization of PIM-1 will allow us to define its role in normal and malignant hematolymphoid differentiation.

Expression of members of immunoglobulin gene family in somatic cell hybrids between human B and T cells.

Somatic cell hybrids were obtained between human T and B cells and tested for the expression of differentiated traits of both cell lineages. The T-cell parent SUP-T1 is CD3-, CD4+, CD1+, CD8+, is weakly positive for HLA class I determinants, and has an inversion of chromosome 14 due to a site-specific recombination event between an immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable gene and the joining segment of the T-cell receptor alpha chain. The B-cell parent, the 6-thioguanine- and ouabain-resistant mutant GM1500, is a lymphoblastoid cell line that secretes IgG2, kappa chains, and expresses B1, B532, and HLA class I and II antigens. All hybrids expressed characteristics of B cells (Ig+, B1+, B532+, EBNA+, HLA antigens), whereas only CD4 among the T-cell markers was expressed. The level of T-cell receptor beta-chain transcript was greatly reduced and no RNA of the chimeric T-cell receptor alpha-chain joining segment-immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region was detected. Southern blot analysis indicated that absence of T-cell differentiation markers in the hybrids was not due to chromosomal loss. Rather, some B-cell-specific factor present in the hybrids may account for the suppression.

Suppression of the normal mouse c-myc oncogene in human lymphoma cells.

In Burkitt's lymphoma, which carries the t(8;14) chromosome translocation, the c-myc oncogene normally located on band q24 of human chromosome 8 (refs 1-3) translocates to the heavy-chain locus on chromosome 14 (refs 1, 4, 5); this results in transcriptional deregulation of the translocated c-myc oncogene, which is transcribed constitutively at elevated levels, while the normal c-myc oncogene on the uninvolved chromosome 8 is either silent or expressed at very low levels (A.ar-R. and C.M.C., unpublished results). We have now introduced the active c-myc oncogene of proliferating mouse spleen cells into human lymphoma cells carrying the t(8;14) chromosome translocation by hydridization, and have examined the hybrids for expression of the human and murine c-myc oncogene. The results of this analysis, reported here, indicate that the active mouse myc gene is shut off at the transcriptional level in the human lymphoma cells, implying that human B cells at the stage of differentiation of lymphoma cells used in this study are nonpermissive for normal c-myc transcription.

Characterization of the human PIM-1 gene: a putative proto-oncogene coding for a tissue specific member of the protein kinase family.

The mouse PIM-1 gene is involved in the pathogenesis of virally-induced mouse lymphomas. We have cloned and analyzed the human homologue of the mouse PIM-1 gene to investigate its role in human lymphoma and leukemia. Overlapping cDNA clones from a K562 (human erythroleukemia cell line) library were isolated and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence showed significant homology to a number of the protein kinases but did not have a transmembrane region. Genomic clones from the 380 cell line (human B cell leukemia) were analyzed. The PIM-1 transcript was found to derive from 5 Kb of genomic DNA. Six exons and five introns were identified. The promoter region has no TATA or CAAT boxes, but did have multiple potential Sp1 binding sites (CCGCCC). Studies of expression of this gene using Northern blots of human cell lines showed it to be transcribed primarily in B lymphoid and myeloid cell lines. The characterization of the human PIM-1 gene will allow the definition of its role in hemopoietic malignancies and in hematolymphoid differentiation.

Heterogeneity of chromosome 22 breakpoint in Philadelphia-positive (Ph+) acute lymphocytic leukemia.

In chronic myelogenous leukemias (CML) with the t(9;22)(q34;q11) chromosome translocation the breakpoints on chromosome 22 occur within a 5.8-kilobase segment of DNA referred to as "breakpoint cluster region" (bcr). The same cytogenetically indistinguishable translocation occurs in approximately 10% of patients with acute lymphocytic leukemias (ALL). In this study we have investigated the chromosome breakpoints in several cases of ALL carrying the t(9;22) translocation. In three of five cases of ALL we found that the bcr region was not involved in the chromosome rearrangement and that the 22q11 chromosome breakpoints were proximal (5') to the bcr region at band 22q11. In addition, we observed normal size bcr and c-abl transcripts in an ALL cell line carrying the t(9;22) translocation. We conclude, therefore, that if c-abl is inappropriately expressed in ALL cells without bcr rearrangements, the genetic mechanism of activation must be different from that reported for CML.

Translocation of an immunoglobulin kappa locus to a region 3' of an unrearranged c-myc oncogene enhances c-myc transcription.

We have studied somatic cell hybrids between mouse myeloma and JI Burkitt lymphoma cells carrying a t(2;8) chromosome translocation for the expression of human kappa chains. and for the presence and rearrangements of the human c-myc oncogene and kappa chain genes. Our results indicate that the c-myc oncogene is unrearranged and remains on the 8q+ chromosome of JI cells. Two rearranged C kappa genes were detected: the expressed allele on normal chromosome 2 and the excluded kappa allele that was translocated from chromosome 2 to the involved chromosome 8 (8q+). The distribution of V kappa and C kappa genes in hybrid clones retaining different human chromosomes indicated that C kappa is distal to V kappa on 2p and that the breakpoint in this Burkitt lymphoma is within the region carrying V kappa genes. High levels of transcripts of the c-myc gene were found when it resided on the 8q+ chromosome but not on the normal chromosome 8, demonstrating that translocation of a kappa locus to region distal to the c-myc oncogene enhances c-myc transcription.

Actively transcribed genes in the raf oncogene group, located on the X chromosome in mouse and human.

Murine and human cDNAs, related to but distinct from c-raf-1, have been isolated and designated mA-raf and hA-raf, respectively. The mA-raf and hA-raf cDNAs detect the same murine and human fragments in Southern blots of restriction enzyme-cleaved murine and human cellular DNA. The murine restriction enzyme fragments homologous to mA-raf cDNA cosegregate with mouse chromosome X in a panel of Chinese hamster-mouse hybrid cells, thus localizing the mA-raf locus to mouse chromosome X. Two independently segregating loci, detected by the hA-raf cDNA (or mA-raf cDNA), hA-raf-1 and hA-raf-2, are located on human chromosomes X and 7, respectively. The mA-raf locus and the hA-raf-1 locus are actively transcribed in several mouse and human cell lines.